


Danaus Plexippus

by Sterek_ed (Thorki_ed)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, Crack, Fluff, M/M, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-14
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-24 16:40:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1612088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thorki_ed/pseuds/Sterek_ed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lydia's coffee shop is the go-to library-cafe, and Stiles has been there since the beginning. So, when a new face walks through the door, it's no surprise Stiles is alllllllllll over that. (Or wants to be, anyway. Fuck off, Danny!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. SUNDAY

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! It's moi with yet another scrambled mess. This time it's a Coffee Shop AU (yaaaay)! This goes out to my soulmate [yoteenwolf ](http://www.yoteeenwolftho.tumblr.com)who makes all my gifs and betas for me when I beg and supports me with all her love. muah!
> 
> Additional Tags may be added at some point but I think I've covered everything.

What Stiles really loves is the faint smell of coffee in the pages of the old books. And the soft clacking of laptop keys on the background. And the smell of oatmeal and fruit cookies in the oven and the small ding of the bell every time a customer walked in. And his boss who smelled like cinnamon and sassed people with a flip of her strawberry blonde hair. And the regulars who always greet him - and tip him. He especially loves his personalized tip jar that jingles at the end of his nights.   
  
"Hey there, what can I get for ya?" He says in his usual chipper tone and wide smile.   
  
"Medium Caffé Mocha, please," a deep voice came. Stiles looked up from the register to see the embodiment of exuberant sexiness in the form of a strong, square jawline sporting neatly trimmed facial hair.  
  
 _Breathe._    
  
"Yeah, sure, want whipped cream on that?"   
  
"Whipped cream?” the man stated, and Stiles couldn’t tell I that was disgust or interest in his voice. He flicked his sunglasses on top of his head revealing eyes that changed colours from green to hazel and back.

“Erm,” Stiles tried,even he had already blacked out the “whipped cream” option off the cup entirely. “No whipped cream, got it,” he said hastily. “That’s $2.75 please.”

A five dollar bill was placed on the counter and before Stiles could ask if it was for here or to go, the man’s broad shoulders were already making their way to the waiting counter. 

An image of Grumpy Cat came to Stiles’ mind as he tried to shrug off the encounter. Besides, the tip he was left was almost as much as the cost of the coffee. No complaining. Nope.


	2. TUESDAY

Stiles had the next day off and was back in the shop by Tuesday, which he was glad for. He had been there about three and a half years now, ever since Lydia opened the cafe-library “Danaus Plexippus”. It has started off as a small little shop with a few books for people to read as they sat but everyone loved the idea so much they started donating their own books and her library grew larger and larger. The store grew too, and the bookshelves became higher - so high they even invested in a rolling ladder and cataloging the books in a computer system. The walls had grown so cave-like and with its dim lighting, it was so Beauty and the Beastesque and Stiles loved it, no matter how much Lydia rolled her eyes every time he tried to get her to change the name. They had hired twins Ethan and Aiden when business started booming but when they left for university out of state, Isaac and Danny were brought on board. It seemed they were only going upward, so they hired Jackson, another sophomore. Since Lydia and Aiden were making it work long-distance, so she would often drive to visit, meaning Lydia was looking to hire again, remarkably enough.  
  
Stiles had helped train all of them, and as he looked around the shop, he swelled with pride. Sure, it was Lydia's name on the shop and her business, but it was just as much Stiles' baby as it was hers. They’d all grown so close that Lydia even attended Stiles’ high school graduation and promoted him when he became a freshman at the local college.

“Hey,” he greeted Isaac, who had opened with Lydia.

Isaac greeted him with a smile as he topped the Frappuccino in front of him, Lydia chatting away with a regular over the till.

“Busy today?” he asked as he came around the corner, storing his bag under the back counter and wrapping an apron around himself. He clipped his name tag on and placed his tip jar at the front beside Isaac’s.

“Not too bad, Lydia’s thinking about sending the newbie home,” Isaac smirked, watching Jackson wipe god knows what off his face. Stiles had to bite back a laugh. Jackson, favoured jock at their school, was struggling with an espresso machine.

He went to check the planner, which Lydia put up every morning and found he was on cash from four to midnight. He went to relieve Lydia at her station.

The first hour went by dealing with school kids who hung around after the bell rang. Lydia stayed back an extra hour to supervise Jackson as Isaac took over most of the drinks. Stiles called it the after-school rush, which was followed quickly by the dinner rush from five to six. When it died down, Stiles helped Isaac clean up and true to her word, Lydia sent Jackson home early before heading out herself. She nodded to Stiles, who she trusted to lock up at night.

Soon it was just Isaac, Stiles and the low thrums of murmured conversations, laughter and the flipping of pages.

The bell rang to signal another customer and Stiles returned to the register. 

“Welcome, what can I get for ya?”

“Medium Caffé Mocha, please,” came a familiar gruff voice.

Out of habit, Stiles asked “Whipped cream?” before he could stop himself. He visibly cringed as the man stared back at him.  
  
"I'll top it off with chocolate chips?" Stiles tried bribing him with a wink. Stiles immediately regretted it as the man wrinkled his thick eyebrows questioningly as he peered up at the menu again. He looked extremely uncomfortable.   
  
"Or plain, uh, you could have it plain, I just - most of our customers like the fixings," Stiles recovered (tried to, at least) swiftly. “I don’t know why I asked, I remember you from Sunday.”  
  
The man noticed how flustered Stiles was and tried his best to hide a grin. "Actually, I think I will try it with whipped cream and chocolate chips. Extra chocolate chips, if you don't mind."  
  
Stiles tried to stop the heat from creeping up his neck as he punched in the order.   
  
"Aaaaand uh, is that for here or to go?"  
  
"Do you have wifi?"  
  
"You betcha!"he almost squawked.  
  
"Then I'll have it for here," the man replied. "Please."   
  
"Not a problem," Stiles replied, regaining his cool. "Name for the order?"   
  
"Derek." And somehow, Stiles just think that suits him.  
  
He took Derek's money, briefly brushing over the man's calloused fingers before asking him to wait at the side. As he gave Derek his change, he remembered to give out their standard card with the day's wifi password and a free refill stamp on it.  
  
"Thanks," he said, taking the card and dropping the change in Stiles’ tip jar.  

Stiles nodded in return and managed a small smile. He saw Isaac grab the cup with Derek's name written on it before pulling him off to the side as another customer came to the register. But, Stiles brain had already calculated the scenario. He turned to the customer and hastily whispered, “Not now, Greenberg,” before rushing to Isaac.

"Hey, would you mind switching places with me for this order?" He attempted puppy eyes.  
  
Isaac looked at Stiles before looking at the handsome customer waiting in a leather jacket. He cocked his eyebrow at Stiles before giving him a shit-eating grin. "And why would that be, Stiles?" He said, taunting him with the empty cup and crude gestures involving his lower pelvic region.   
  
"That's just unsanitary,” Stiles mumbled while rolling his eyes. “C’mon, Isaac, do me a solid.”  
  
Isaac snorted at him, but handed him the cup anyway as he took over the till.   
  
Stiles got to work on the mocha, hands flying as the motions and measurements were second nature to him by now. He was true to his word and spiraled the cream around neatly before having a field day with the chocolate chip sprinkler. Once he was satisfied, he took his marker and underneath his message scrawl of Derek's name he wrote a short apology: _didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, so sorry._  
  
Before placing it on the waiting counter. As per routine, he announced the order up even though Derek was the only one there. "Caffé mocha for Derek!"   
  
When Derek picked up his drink, he looked at Stiles with an amused look before glancing over at Isaac at the register. His eyes landed back on Stiles, who looked sheepish and busied himself by cleaning the counter.   
  
"Thanks," he said politely with a nod, picking up his drink. He seemed pleased with the amount of chocolate chips as he darted his tongue out to scoop some up. The gesture might have been adorable for a toddler but with a muscular man who looked like a GQ model, Stiles thought it was almost obscene. Thank god he made the mocha good enough that it held Derek's full attention or Stiles would have been caught staring like a goon.   
  
"Medium hot decaf triple five-pump vanilla, non-fat, no foam, extra whipped cream, hot extra caramel upside down caramel macchiato”, Isaac hollered at him. He groaned in response. _Godda_ _m_ _mit, Greenberg._ Of course _that_ would be Greenberg’s order that would come in after they switch. He glared at Isaac, who grinned wider than the Cheshire Cat.   
  
The rest of the day went by as normal - slow but not dead, which gave the baristas a chance to today up between orders or quiz each other for their upcoming history midterm. They were both seniors at Beacon Hills High and had both worked for Lydia a long time.   
  
He didn't mind closing shifts since he liked the short walk home and tidying up to please his minor OCD. There were only a few people left at ten since they closed at midnight - one of them being Derek.   
  
Stiles had absolutely NOT been glancing over every now and then. No.   
  
BUT, if he did, he would tell you that Derek was writing something very intensely and he happened to need thick-rimmed glasses to read his computer screen. He also had a very grumpy face, so whatever he was working on must not have been that fun. Though, his grumpy face was still quite attractive.   
  
 _Ah, what the hell,_ Stiles thought. He made his way over to Derek's table, white chocolate macadamia nut cookie in hand. When he placed the plate on the table, Derek glanced up in surprise.   
  
Stiles smiled. "We make them fresh every morning and throughout the day. Whoever closes gets the leftovers, but you've had just as long a day as I've had from the looks of it, so think of it as a treat," he said in a cheerful manner.

Derek paused, but smiled gratefully. “Thanks… I appreciate that.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Customer service was his specialty, after all. "Want that refill while I'm at it?"  
  
"Uh, sure? Yeah, that’d be great actually," Derek said, taking off his glasses and closing his eyes shit and blinking them rapidly. "Shit, is that the time?"  
  
Stiles couldn't help it, he laughed a little at the comical gesture. "Yes sir. Hope you didn’t have somewhere to be?”

Derek sighed. “No, I just… No.”

Stiles sauntered back to the counter and whipped up another Caffé Mocha, nearly emptying the chocolate chip container on it. He looked over at Derek, who had taken off the leather jacket some while ago to reveal defined muscles and Stiles figured a little extra chocolate wouldn’t hurt the guy... Like, at all. He knew Danny would have a field day if he ever caught sight of Derek in the shop.

“Here ya go,” he said, returning the filled cup to Derek.

“Thanks a lot,” Derek said, again licking at the chocolate chips. “And it wasn’t you, by the way,” he added.

“Sorry?” Stiles said, tearing his gaze away from the way the muscles in Derek’s arms flexed even with the slightest movement.

Derek pointed at the message on the cup. “It wasn’t you. It’s just… I was a little thrown. This place is different.”

Stiles was surrounded by people constantly using _different_ as a way to describe him, and if he was to be honest – he enjoyed it. He _wanted_ to stick out in a crowd.

“I’ll take it as a compliment, we try to stand out,” he quipped.

“Good… It was a compliment,” Derek said, sipping his drink, leaving a ridiculous whipped cream moustache on his upper lip. Stiles barely contained a snort and Derek glared at him.

Stiles coughed before pointing at his own upper lip. Derek continued to glare, but licked his upper lip clean anyway. Stiles was thankful for the loose apron covering his lower waist right now as he felt something stir.

 _Think about something else,_ he thought urgently. _Kill the mood, do the killing of the mood. Oh my god, his tongue is so goddamn perf – GREENBERG. THINK ABOUT GREENBERG._

“So, how long have you been working here?”

Stiles barely avoided getting whiplash as he turned his head to Derek again. “Me? Oh, uh, I’ve been here since the store opened about three and a half years ago.”

“It’s impressive,” Derek said, eyes scanning the walls of books. “Very Beauty and the Beast.”

 _Did I just fall in love?_ Stiles thought to himself as he started beaming. “See, that’s what I keep telling Lydia! Totally what we – er, _I’m_ aiming for. Um, are you new to the neighbourhood?” he asked, even though he was sure he knew the answer. Nobody lived around here without knowing about Danaus Plexippus.

Derek nodded. “Obvious, huh?”

“Nah,” Stiles said while his mind screamed _YES BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER SEEN YOUR GORGEOUS FACE BEFORE._ “I just have a good memory when it comes to faces and I don’t remember seeing you around,” Stiles covered up. _AND I WOULD HAVE DEFINITELY REMEMBERED YOURS, YOU GRUMPY FUCK._

Maybe Stiles imaged the reddening of Derek’s ears. Maybe not. Either way, Derek actually smiled and Stiles counted it as a win for the night. He bid Derek good luck on his project before returning to the counter, and Isaac’s stupid face.

“Shut up,” he spat under his breath before Isaac could even open his mouth.


	3. THURSDAY

He had Wednesday off which gave him enough time to finish his project and _still_ beat Scott in Halo _and_ arrive at the shop by 3:50pm the next day. He was marvelous, really, he knew it.

“Hey Lyds, Danny,” he greeted the both of them.

“How was school, Stiles?” Lydia asked. She was like an older sister to him. Even though she was only five years older than him, she had been a role model – successfully opening her own business at 21 and still going to school, she helped Stiles manage his time and always made sure he had enough days off to stay on top of school.

“Great, I finished my gender studies essay early so I’m ahead of everyone and I’m writing up my history report over the weekend to hand it in early.”

Lydia beamed, and _my god_ Stiles thought she was gorgeous. Her smile could light up the entire room. “That’s great, Stiles. I’m proud of you,” she said with a kiss on each cheek. “Why don’t you grab a snack before your shift, hmm?” she said, even though she was already putting a chocolate chip cookie on a plate for him.

He chuckled at her doting personality. “Thanks, Lydia,” he said softly, hugging the woman.

“Any time, Stiles. Any time,” she responded, getting ready to leave. “Isaac said he’s got a big test coming up so I told him he could have the night off,” she continued. “I think you and Danny can handle it, but if you need, call Allison in!”

She swiftly gathered her things, let her hair out of the bun that had been sitting on her head and shook it out. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Stiles, and you on Saturday, Danny.”  She waved them both goodbye and left them to it.

It didn’t take long for Danny to nudge Stiles in the side. “So Isaac tells me there’s some fresh meat in town.”

 _Fresh meat._ Stiles just shakes his head. Danny made his way through every gay or bisexual guy in town – before Stiles realized his own sexuality, that is, and _nothing_ stopped Danny. Stiles sighed, but indulged the other man regardless. “New guy came in a couple days ago. Reminds me of Grumpy Cat, but like a hot Grumpy Cat.”

Danny laughs, and Stiles takes a second to admire his smile and dimples in the flawless, tan complexion. “Gotta point him out to me,” Danny says with a pointed stare.

“Trust me, I won’t need to,” Stiles replied, getting his apron together. The planner for the day put him on drinks as Danny manned the front. Lydia switched things around to keep them on their feet and make sure everyone had even tips for the most part.

“That gorgeous, huh?” Danny said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Stiles couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness.

“Maybe,” he shot back with his own eyebrow-wiggling. He knew Danny loved joking around, especially since his breakup with Ethan when they couldn’t make it work long-distance.

The next few hours went by in a blur as they usually did, and Stiles loved that his hands were always moving. He picked up the next cup and laughed out loud when he saw that Danny had simply put “Sheriff” with a heart to dot the “i”.

“Hey, dad,” he said over the counter. Sure enough, Sheriff Stilinski smiled back, waiting for his Americano. “Nice to see you keep mooching coffee from me.”

“First of all, it’s Lydia’s café,” the Sheriff said with a pretend frown. “And secondly, I am not mooching. I make sure hooligans stay away from this fine establishment or else I come down on them with the entire force of the department.”

Stiles handed his father the steaming cup. “Good to see you use the town’s resources equitably for emergencies.”

“Wouldn’t you know it,” the sheriff scoffed,  clearly referring to all the times he’s had to pick Stiles up from somewhere in the cruiser because he’d gotten himself in trouble while his dad was still on the clock.

“Should I come pick you up after work? It’s gonna be cold tonight,” his dad offered.

“Nah, I’ll be fine, I brought appropriate attire,” Stiles said. Ever since he started growing up, he just began realizing that his dad was always bending over backwards to help him, and it was time Stiles got his act together. Since he turned seventeen, he hadn’t asked his dad for a penny or constantly pester him for favours. “Just be safe, dad.”

“You know I will, kiddo,” his father replied fondly. Stiles could tell his dad was grateful he had finally grown up and left the high school shenanigans (well, most of them) behind. It had brought the two of them together, really.

It was around 9:30 when Derek popped in, and Stiles was beginning to think they had a new regular. He picked up a medium cup and got to work on a Caffé Mocha before he even reached the register. Danny, however, stood up a little straighter before flashing a patented Danny-smile.

“Welcome to Danaus Plexippus, how are you doing today?” Danny practically purred. Surprisingly, he actually engaged in light conversation with Derek, and Stiles couldn’t help feel a pang of jealousy. After all, his first encountered with said super-hot-dude had ended in deadly glaring.

He finished the drink before Danny even punched it in, obviously wrapped up in whatever story Derek was explaining with his vague hand gestures.

Stiles surprised them both by placing the made drink on the counter. “Good to see you again, Derek,” he said with a nod before forcing himself to turn away to clean the machines. He convinced himself that he was just exceeding in customer service. When he heard them laugh, he stopped what he was doing. Danny’s laugh was always light and almost tinkling, like he thought you were the funniest person in the world. But the other laugh – Derek’s laugh – while deeper than Danny’s, held the same lilting tones. Stiles sneaked a peek, and felt a jolt. Derek’s smile was like some rare, exotic bird, Stiles was sure. He didn’t even think Derek _could_ smile, but there he was in a full laugh with his head tilted back and his eyes crinkled just the slightest bit. His five o’ clock shadow looked really damn good and Stiles wanted to run his fingers along that jaw. Danny noticed another customer walk in so he wrapped things up with Derek. Stiles couldn’t help but feel glad when he handed the free refill card since it meant Derek was staying.

Before he turned away from the counter, his eyes spotted Stiles before lifting the cup and dipping his head in some weird macho manly _thanks for the chocolate chips._ Stiles tried to smile back and wave his hand but ended up dropping one of the blenders in the sink full of water, splashing himself in the face. He turned bright red as Derek hid a smile and walked away to, what was quickly becoming, his favourite corner.

Danny gave a long, low whistle. “Man, he is _delicious._ ”

“That doesn’t even make any sense, it’s not like you’ve tasted hi – oh god, stop,” Stiles screwed up his face as Danny laughed at him.

“You know, he left you a five dollar tip.”

“What? Why?” Stiles blurted out.

Danny just rolled his eyes like _what a newbie_ , but decided to help his close friend. “Stiles, it’s time to wake up and smell the Old Spice flowers. That guy is an open book – newfound bisexuality, moving away to start a new life, lingering around a dingy coffee shop that has been compared to a lair... Make your move, Stilinski, or _I will,_ ” he ended with a wink.

Stiles just gaped at him. “How much bullshit can you possibly make up?” he challenged. Come on, _newfound bisexuality?_ When Stiles looked at Derek, he just saw dark hair, bright eyes and ridiculous muscles.

“My gaydar is impeccable, remember?”

Stiles rolled his eyes. He couldn’t argue, really, but even this was a stretch. Even for his super gaydar. He told Danny so.

Now it was Danny’s turn to roll his light brown eyes. “It’s called a conversation, Stiles. That’s how I know. He moved here from New York a few weeks ago.”

 _Oh._ “You never cease to amaze me, Danny boy. Say, does your gaydar know how old he is?” he joked.

“Yeah, _within your age range_ ,” Danny countered. “And certainly within mine.”

They worked in comfortable conversation until Danny left at ten. There were only a few customers left: an elderly man reading his newspaper, one couple in a window seat and Derek, who was sitting in the back so Stiles went ahead and re-shelved some of the books in the return bin. He secretly loved climbing the ladder and zipping across the shelves like Belle. He was done in almost no time having memorized the shelves by now and busied himself by cleaning some of the vacant tables. Some other customers walked in for drinks to go which kept Stiles mind off of Derek, though temporarily. When the couple left for the night, it was just him and Derek as the clock rolled around to 11:30PM.

“Last call! Can I get you anything else?” Stiles asked. Derek always had such a serious look on his face, eyebrows knitted together in concentration.

“Oh, no, thanks,” Derek said, checking the time on his laptop. He cleaned up some of the loose papers around his desk, organizing and re-organizing them, sighing as though he carried a huge burden on his shoulders.

“Do you need a ride home?”

Stiles eyes bugged out of his head as he slowly turned around to make sure Derek wasn’t on his bluetooth or something equally embarrassing. A pair of bright green eyes stared right at him.

 _This is the part where you speak, genius,_ his brain nudged.

“Me? Wha - oh no, I’ve got a bazillion more things to do around the shop.”

“Okay,” Derek said slowly, giving Stiles a funny look (no, not disappointment, fool) before packing up the rest of his things. “Have a good night, then,” Derek said politely.

“You too,” Stiles said, back towards Derek to hide his tomato-like face. Once the soft ring of the bell indicated that Derek had finally left, Stiles finally turned around to look at the empty seat which once held Derek. More specifically, Derek’s ass. Beautiful, wonderful, ass.

_You’re an idiot._

_Yes, thank you, brain, I know._

Honestly though, he couldn’t even imagine himself in whatever car Derek drove trying not to stare at him the whole way home (which would have been all of a four minute drive anyway).

As he finally locked up for the night, he realized what his dad meant by “cold” as he shivered the whole walk home.

_Should have accepted that ride in a nice, warm car with that steaming, hot man-toy._

_Yes, again, thank you, now shut up._

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you stay tuned for more! Or come on by to say hi at [sterek--smut.tumblr.com](http://www.sterek--smut.tumblr.com) if you'd like! :3


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